Blacks in foster care disproportionately

Blacks in foster care disproportionately
State lawmaker requests a study to determine reason for imbalance in
system.



By the numbers 8,674 Children in Indiana substitute care in 2003,
which includes foster care and institutions.
5,089 Children in foster care in Indiana.
1,826 Black children in Indiana foster care.
3,796 Foster parents in the state.
1,007 Black foster parents in the state.

Source: Indiana Family and Social Services Administration

By Eunice Trotter

July 8, 2004

Some blame illegal drugs, single-parenting and poverty for the high
number of black children in foster care. Others say federal policies,
caseworker training issues and cultural ignorance are to blame.

Whatever the reasons, Indiana, like states across the country, is
pulling a disproportionate number of black children from their
families and placing them into foster care.

Black children make up 10 percent of Indiana's total child population
but more than 38 percent of the roughly 5,100 children in foster care,
according to 2003 Family and Social Services Administration and U.S.
Census statistics.

Children are typically placed in foster care because of abuse or
neglect.

But while black children were victims in only about 18 percent of the
substantiated reports of abuse or neglect, they make up more than a
third of the children in foster care, FSSA reports show.

Experts say it's a trend that has been building for years but hasn't
been addressed in any significant way.

Some fear if some action isn't taken now, the trend could lead to the
further erosion of black families, with potentially costly
consequences for taxpayers that include higher child welfare costs and
more spending on jails and prisons.

State Rep. Bill Crawford, D-Indianapolis, has requested a study to
determine why so many black children in Indiana are in foster care. It
is believed to be the first local study of the issue.

"Our community has to address this," said Crawford, chairman of the
House Ways and Means Committee. "If there is a crisis here, this is
it."

Once in foster care, state statistics show, black children:

? Remained there longer than white children and were more often placed
in multiple foster homes. About 40 percent of the black children in
foster care in Indiana in 2001 had been in foster care three years or
more, compared with less than 10 percent of white children.

? Received fewer services, such as home-based counseling and therapy,
and were more frequently placed in locked facilities, according to a
2003 study by The Villages, the state's largest foster care agency.

? Were more likely to end up in the criminal justice system than white
foster children, according to state officials and studies by national
experts.

Clara Anderson of the Children's Bureau Inc., one of the city's oldest
foster care agencies, is leading the study.

Preliminary results show that in almost all of the 20 counties
Crawford selected for scrutiny, black children were over-represented
in the foster care system. Anderson said the study should be completed
in late summer.

"The reality is no one is trying to point a finger," said Anderson.
"But we have to solve a problem, and we need to be open."

FSSA officials also are concerned.

"I don't know that I would have any specific answers why this is
happening in Indiana," said Jane A. Bisbee, director of FSSA's Bureau
of Family Preservation.

"But I, along with many people in Indiana, are anxious to find the
answers."

Carol Spigner, a leading child welfare official in the Clinton
administration, has looked at the issue nationally for years.

She finds that many troubled black families aren't offered the help
they actually need to keep their children out of the system. For
example, Indiana pays millions to provide parenting classes and
counseling when substance abuse treatment and housing are needed more,
said Spigner, a University of Pennsylvania professor of social work.

"There's a mismatch between needs and services," she said.

Following the money

Some say it's no coincidence that the number of children in foster
care grew as federal funds for foster care increased starting in the
1970s, according to a study by the Pew Commission on Children in
Foster Care, a national research group dedicated to the issue.

Since the 1970s, the number of foster children nationally has tripled
to more than 574,000 in 2002. More than 41 percent of the children
were black, the most recent statistics available, although blacks made
up about 15 percent of the U.S. population.

Some say consciously or unconsciously, officials shifted child welfare
cases to foster care, where money was available.

"Current federal funding mechanisms for child welfare encourage an
over-reliance on foster care at the expense of other services that
might keep families safely together," said Carol Emig, executive
director of the Pew Commission.

If states could receive more funding for other services, it would
"allow children to return safely home, or move children swiftly and
safely from foster care to adoptive families or permanent legal
guardians," said Emig.

The federal government provides states about $700 million a year for
child care, rent subsidies, drug treatment and other support services.
About $4 billion is available for foster care.

In Indiana, state officials say about $180 million a year is spent for
foster and institutional care, and about $16 million is spent on
services designed to keep children in their homes. Of the amount spent
on foster care, about $70 million is reimbursed through federal funds.

The damage of dope

Drugs also have contributed to black families losing custody of their
children.

But periodic national surveys on drug abuse by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services show drug use among blacks is not
disproportionately high compared to whites. Blacks, however, more
often face drug charges and are convicted at higher rates than whites.
Blacks also receive more time in prison, according to a study prepared
by the Child Welfare League. This contributes to the disproportionate
number of black children in foster care, experts say.

Last year, for example, the Indianapolis Police Department charged
twice as many black juveniles and adults, 2,300, with drug offenses
compared with 1,146 whites charged. Whites make up about 70 percent of
Indianapolis' population.

A 2001 federal study for the Southern District of Indiana, which
includes Indianapolis, showed blacks received longer prison sentences:
an average of 90 months in prison, compared with 80.9 months for
whites.

Spigner said poor people, who are disproportionately black, often get
inadequate legal representation in both the criminal and child welfare
systems.

"It's abysmal across the nation," she said. "Public defenders walk in
five minutes before a parent goes before a judge, if an attorney walks
in at all."

Adequate training?

Officials can't explain why black children receive fewer services once
in foster care.

A study last year by The Villages, the foster care agency, showed
black foster children statewide received less home-based counseling
and therapy and were more frequently placed in facilities where
residents don't have the freedom to leave when they want.

About 75 percent of children who got home-based services were white;
16 percent were black, according to the Villages' study.

National studies have repeatedly shown that black children receive
fewer caseworker visits, said Spigner and others.

Many believe caseworker training would help.

Training is one of FSSA's priorities, but the state agency lacks
adequate money to fully implement training programs, said Kay Osborne,
who heads the social service agency's training arm.

FSSA has only three staffers monitoring training programs, which are
run by private contractors.

Tawanna Clarke, executive director of Indiana Youth Advocate Program,
a private foster care agency, said cultural differences and inadequate
training can cause caseworkers to make bad decisions.

She recalled a conversation with a white caseworker who observed a
black mother braiding her toddler daughter's hair at home. Intricate
braiding is a centuries-old, time-consuming African tradition now
embraced by many ethnicities, especially among younger generations.

Clarke said the caseworker thought the mother was being abusive
because she made the child sit still for a lengthy period of time as
she combed through the child's coarse hair, causing the child to
grimace at times.

"When she came back into the office, she told me about it. I kind of
laughed. If I hadn't been there to explain to her that it was not
abuse, that mother could have been penalized," Clarke said.

CL Day, who heads Neighbors Organized to Assist Humanity, agrees
training is crucial.

"Workers have to be trained and sensitive to the culture of the child
and the child's family.

"Does racism play a role in some of this? Probably," Day said. "Can
training help? Definitely."
http://www.indystar.com/articles/1/160870-7451-009.html
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